Guitar hanger installation

saab95 · Post by **saab95** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 8:41 am

"On last thought on the 'fear of falling' - get insurance. If you want to sleep at night I think that is the best way to go... "

Hey John, insurance is meaningless when it comes to Ricks.
I think it's OK for Fenders maybe, You can always go to the music shop next to your house and buy one "over the counter" with the insurance money.
But that's not the case for Rickenbackers, which to my opinion are priceless. I mean, you know how much they cost but you sometimes need to wait for years from ordering to getting it.
Moreover I'm sure that -and most of you would agree- that we have huge emotions involved with Ricks unlike with other guitars.
I couldn't sleep knowing that I left a Rick hanging on the wall, with a chance of hearing BOOOOM/CRASH in the middle of the night. A Fender yes...(and I really love my Tele too) but a rick??? NEVER!!!! Not for a million...

jsm610 · Post by **jsm610** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 9:01 am

"Hey John, insurance is meaningless when it comes to Ricks. I think it's OK for Fenders maybe, You can always go to the music shop next to your house and buy one "over the counter" with the insurance money. "

I think I get what you mean... but insurance isn't meaningless. Trust that if a guitar falls off the wall I'll take the insurance money and buy another one - it is just a matter of finding a similar one. None of these Ricks are one-of-a-kind. (Well maybe some are - but even then who knows...?)

Anyhow - my point is that there are many folks who don't have insurance - and they should. Things burn, and get stolen, and places flood. And people throw beer bottles at you when you're playing and smash the front of your guitar. And you knock your guitar over by mistake, and and and. Insurances isn't that much!

clearblue · Post by **clearblue** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 9:37 am

I live 4 blocks from the beach. I usually keep my guitars in cases. My apartment isn't huge and to have more than 1 or possibly 2 stands is impractical. The wall hanger would be when I want more than one guitar at the ready and for convenience. My RIC will only be there for photo taking. It's mainly for the Fender. (MIM)

kog · Post by **kog** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 6:18 pm

I find myself in the same spot as John Minutaglio -- with my guitars out in the open, I play at least a couple every day. For years, I kept them in the case, and only hauled one out every few months. When we moved into a new house last year, and I was able to have my own "music room" the first thing I did was buy some slot wallboard and put it up on two walls and hung my guitars. Now it looks like John Hall's museum -- only with about 98 fewer Rics (working on it).

So, Paul W., I really respect the opinions of people like you and Dale Fortune on the board. Am I really running a big risk leaving them hung up like that? I live in Phoenix, and during the summer we leave the a/c on (about 78 while people are in the house, about 85 while we're at work), and we don't have a humidifier. We have our usual "monsoon" season here from about mid-July up to mid-September, when we get humidity AND heat (nothing like the southeast US tho).

And in the winter, we don't use the heater much -- it gets cold, but we like it that way. I also clean mine pretty thoroughly every time I change the strings, and they get a dusting every couple of weeks.

Am I putting too much of a strain on the guitars that I will regret in 20 years?

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 6:32 pm

Jerry, I'd at least make sure the humidity is around 35%...Phoenix is quite dry, as you know. Things start to poppin' when they dry out too much.

kog · Post by **kog** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 6:39 pm

Thanks, Paul. I'll start looking for a room humidifier. I've got a Gretsch 6120 from 1965 (original) and they have a storied rep for the binding popping off. I've never had a problem but I don't want to push my luck. Thanks again, and Yikes!

jsm610 · Post by **jsm610** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 7:08 am

Jerry: I'm in Phoenix too. I'd recommend the Kenmore 11 gallon - you can get it (and the filters) at any Sears. This is the one with the digital read-out. In my place, it will easily get under 20% RH in certain months with no humidifier... You can get a humidistat at Brookstone or Radio Shack...

I've had my guitars out in Phoenix for 3+ years, no issues. The room is mostly 70-75 degrees & 40% RH

kog · Post by **kog** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 7:05 pm

Thanks, John. I'll check the Kenmore out.

route66guitars · Post by **route66guitars** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 7:28 pm

I've used the Off-The-Wall hangers in my shop, as well as in my home, since they first went on the market 15 years ago. At one time I had more than 300 instruments hanging from them. I use their drywall anchors and have never had one fail.

Vintage instruments are better off out of their cases, as the gasses that the finish and binding give off build up when left in the case. This is why you see otherwise pristine vintage Gretsches with 'burned' binding, and D'Angelicos and Pre-Gibson Epiphones with crystallized pickguards. New instruments use much more stable finishes and plastics and can be stored in their cases indefinitely (in theory.).

Hope that helps.

clearblue · Post by **clearblue** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 7:31 am

It sure does. Thanks Scott.

randyz · Post by **randyz** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 10:54 am

Scott: Perhaps that explains why the binding on my '66 Gretsch Tennessean was deteriorating. I got it out of the case only rarely, but the binding got worse and worse, and the hardware kept tarnishing. I always wiped it down before putting it away, but the guitar always looked bad when I'd pull it out of the case. In the end, I decided to sell it before it got any worse.

clearblue · Post by **clearblue** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 6:49 pm

Well..it didn't work out as I had hoped. The drywall just turned to powder as I screwed in one of the anchors. I hung a picture there instead and will save the fixture for a future location or residence. I'll get another guitar stand.

teb · Post by **teb** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 8:11 pm

I saw this one a while back (on eBay, I think). Something similar wouldn't be hard to build. I'm thinking about making myself one, but one that hangs on the wall (anchored to the studs, not the drywall) and adding some sort of small gates across the neck slots for extra security.

teb · Post by **teb** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 8:28 pm

These are kind of cool as well, if you have the wall space and the money - they aren't cheap, though again, the construction is fairly simple. Tolex-covered frame, grill cloth covered plywood back panel, some case hardware for looks and if desired, a hinged glass or plexi front panel. Of course you'd need a proper guitar inside for it to really look nice, but I think most of us could come up with one or two. It's from www.displayandplay.com

jeff_ulmer · Post by **jeff_ulmer** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 4:14 am

I use metal wall anchors that go through the drywall and compress back against it when you tighten up the screws, giving you a sandwich of metal that goeas around the hole, and extends 3/4 of an inch to each side. Be sure, whatever you decide on, that it isn't rubber, which I've seen peel the finish off more than one guitar. One guitar store I frequented did a remodel and used rubber hangers, all of their Gibsons, including a number of $4K+ instruments, had the finish melt where they were hanging. Ouch.